To help, a German organization set up a shelter near the Ukraine-Poland border.
Sonja Mortensen Dissing, a volunteer from Denmark aged 53, said to the Associated Press that volunteers try to make the animal feel as comfortable as possible. She said that all of the animals are traumatized and stressed from being in a war zone.
Mortensen Dissing cried, and said that the situation was “very difficult.”
The shelter has several large cages that house multiple animals. Three small dogs can be seen hiding behind their heads and shaking in a single cage. Volunteers said that these three dogs aren’t used to people at all.
She said that some of the dogs are street dogs and have never been with humans. “Some of them are street dogs, they have never been in human hands,” she said.
Volunteers are there to provide comfort and play with the animals.
It is difficult to provide food and water. According to Sasha Winkler, 35, there are no cat or dog food in war zones.
Winkler stated that no one is available to provide food for them if they travel 100 kilometers. Volunteers are also gathering aid to take to Lviv, western Ukraine. Additional volunteers then drive food, aid, and other necessities to the smaller areas affected by war.
Winkler believes that an animal’s life is as good as a person’s. Winkler is a volunteer dog trainer and has six dogs, two of which are from Romania.
Winkler stated that the only thing good for dogs and cats is to have the option now with the war for a better future.
Anastasiia Yalanskaya (26 years old) was killed while trying to deliver dog food in Ukraine to shelters. Global News journalist Ashleigh Stewart reported that Yalanskaya and two other people were driving to deliver dog food at a shelter in Ukraine where the animals hadn’t had their meals for three days.
Hours before her death, Yalanskaya posted her final Instagram story. She was seen smiling beside the food bags in the backseat.
Stewart was in touch Yalanskaya’s relatives and reported that Yalanskaya had found the bodies of three of his deceased volunteers at the residence of the father. Stewart stated that the father had requested Ukrainian military assistance in taking the bodies. However, they were not able to help due to the war. The family then buried the three deceased volunteers in their backyard.
